Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard (/ˈælfri ˈwʊdərd/;[1] born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as nominations for an Academy Award and two Grammy Awards. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her as one of "The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century".[2] She is a board member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[3]
Alfre Woodard | |
|---|---|
 Woodard at the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2013 | |
| Born | November 8, 1952 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Education | Boston University (BFA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1973–present |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Roderick Spencer (m. 1983) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
Woodard began her acting career in theater. After her breakthrough role in the Off-Broadway play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1977), she made her film debut in Remember My Name (1978). She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Cross Creek (1983).[4] Woodard starred in films such as Grand Canyon (1991), Passion Fish (1992), Heart and Souls (1993), Crooklyn (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Primal Fear (1996), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and Down in the Delta (1998). She earned a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role nomination for her role in Clemency (2019). She also acted in 12 Years a Slave (2013), Annabelle (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Juanita (2019), the remake of The Lion King (2019), and The Gray Man (2022).
Woodard gained prominence for her television role as Dr. Roxanne Turner in the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1986, and for Guest Actress in 1988. She's received four Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles in the NBC drama series Hill Street Blues in 1984, the NBC series L.A. Law in 1987, the HBO film Miss Evers' Boys (1997), and The Practice in 2003. From 2005 to 2006, Woodard starred as Betty Applewhite in the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) she portrayed the "Black" Mariah Dillard Stokes in the Netflix series Luke Cage (2016–2018).
She is also known for her work as a political activist and producer. Woodard is a founder of Artists for a New South Africa, an organization devoted to advancing democracy and equality in that country.[5]